NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 13:31 ET — Regular session
- Nvidia was little changed after a report said it is in advanced talks to buy Israel’s AI21 Labs for up to $3 billion. Reuters
- Meta rose after saying it would acquire AI startup Manus, with a source valuing the deal at $2 billion to $3 billion. Reuters
- Investors are watching the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes due at 2 p.m. ET for clues on the 2026 rate path. Reuters
Nvidia shares were nearly flat on Tuesday after an Israeli report said the AI-chip leader is in advanced talks to buy startup AI21 Labs for as much as $3 billion. Nvidia was down about 0.02% at $188.18 in early afternoon trade. Reuters
The M&A chatter is landing in a holiday-thin week when investors are reassessing crowded AI trades after a late-2025 tech rally stalled on Monday. Strategists say the rotation has looked more like year-end rebalancing than panic selling. Reuters
Traders are also bracing for macro headlines that can swing high-growth tech valuations, with minutes from the Fed’s December policy meeting due later Tuesday. High-multiple “AI stocks” tend to move with rate expectations because lower rates increase the present value of future earnings. Reuters+1
Calcalist reported Nvidia’s discussions with AI21 have advanced in recent weeks and put the potential price tag at $2 billion to $3 billion. Nvidia declined to comment and AI21 was not immediately available to comment, Reuters reported. Reuters
AI21, founded in 2017 by Mobileye founder and CEO Amnon Shashua and others, was valued at $1.4 billion in a 2023 funding round that included Nvidia and Alphabet’s Google, Reuters said. Calcalist said Nvidia’s interest appears focused on AI21’s roughly 200-person workforce. Reuters
Meta was among the brighter spots in AI-linked megacaps. Its shares rose about 1.17% to $666.40 after the Facebook owner said it would acquire Manus, a Singapore-based startup with Chinese roots, as it pushes into “agentic AI” — software that can take actions for users rather than only answering prompts. Reuters
A source with direct knowledge valued Manus at $2 billion to $3 billion, while Meta said it would integrate the service across consumer and business products, including Meta AI. “We see a natural fit into Meta’s fast-growing WhatsApp SMB footprint,” Rosenblatt Securities analyst Barton Crockett wrote, referring to small and medium-sized businesses. Reuters
Other AI bellwethers were mixed. Microsoft inched up about 0.25% to $488.32, Alphabet was up about 0.04% at $313.68, and Broadcom added about 0.53% to $351.23, while AMD slipped about 0.20% to $215.17.
The broader tape was subdued, with communication services outperforming as tech stocks churned, Reuters reported earlier. Trading volumes have stayed light into year-end, a setup that can exaggerate moves when a headline breaks. Reuters
Monday’s pullback snapped a six-session winning streak for heavyweight tech shares, even after the S&P 500 hit record highs last week, according to Reuters. Market participants have been watching whether AI-driven earnings growth can keep pace with valuations into 2026. Reuters
The next scheduled catalyst for the group is the Fed minutes release at 2 p.m. ET. The central bank’s quarter-point cut — 25 basis points, or 0.25 percentage point — took the policy rate range to 3.50%–3.75%, and the decision drew three dissents, Reuters reported. Reuters
Heading into the close, investors will be looking for whether Nvidia or Meta can extend gains on deal headlines, or whether thin liquidity keeps the AI complex pinned in narrow ranges. Any shift in the tone of the Fed minutes on inflation and labor-market risks could set the direction for AI-heavy portfolios into the final sessions of 2025. Reuters+1
